Page 24 of Captured Desires

Sarah nodded, her expression grim. "He's a powerful vampire, centuries old, with a sadistic streak a mile wide. He's been turning humans and building his army in secret for centuries, biding his time until he's ready to strike."

Maverick's hands clenched into fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white with the force of his grip.

“Do you know him?” Pearl asked Maverick.

“Know him? He was created by him,” a grizzled old agent guffawed.

Pearl gave him an ugly look, and he sobered up. “Is this true?” she asked Maverick in a gentle tone.

He gave a curt nod.

Pearl's mind raced back to Maverick's delirium, his feverish cries for John echoing in her ears. She could almost see the agony that twisted his face as he relived the torment of his transformation, feel the heat of his skin beneath her fingertips as she tried to comfort him. The realization that John had been the one to turn Maverick sent a shiver down her spine. She feared that the darkness of his past was swallowing him whole, dragging him down into its inky depths.

"His endgame is nothing short of chaos and destruction," Sarah continued, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of the table. "And he must be stopped before he tips the balance between vampires and humans beyond repair."

As the briefing continued, Pearl watched as Maverick withdrew into himself, his eyes fixed on the maps that charted the possible locations of where John was holing up. She could see the weight of his past bearing down on him. She longed to reach out, to offer him comfort, but the gulf between them seemed to grow with each passing moment. When Sarah finished the briefing, she turned to Maverick. "You must know something about your maker's whereabouts, or at least how to track him down. Can you help us?"

Maverick's jaw clenched and his eyes flickered with pain and turmoil. "I need a moment," he choked out, rising from his chair. Without waiting for a response, he strode from the room, leaving Pearl staring after him, her heart heavy with worry and uncertainty.

The door slammed shut behind Maverick, echoing through the dimly lit headquarters like a gunshot. Sarah's rage simmered beneath her icy façade as she turned to face Pearl, her brown eyes blazing with fury.

"Damn it." Sarah slammed her hand on the table. "We can't afford any delays. We need to find John and stake him through the heart."

Pearl's gaze lingered on the door through which Maverick had vanished, her thoughts consumed by his struggle. She knew that he was fighting a battle within himself, torn between the man he had been and the creature he had become.

"Where the hell is the gold, Pearl?" Sarah demanded, her voice sharp and unforgiving. "We need to keep it out of John’s hands."

Pearl hesitated, her loyalty torn between her mentor and the man who had captured her heart. "It's with Maverick's gang."

"Then it's as good as gone. We'll never see a penny of it." Pearl opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah cut her off with a raised hand. "And another thing," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Why did you ask about vampire mating bonds in your telegram yesterday? What aren't you telling me?"

The other Pinkerton agents who had been trying to appear invisible during Sarah’s tirade suddenly looked very interested in the conversation.

Pearl felt her heart rate increase, the secret of Maverick's mate bond tattoo hidden beneath her sleeve weighing heavily on her chest. She couldn't reveal that truth—not now, when everything was so uncertain. Instead, she deflected, feeling the sting of betrayal at her own dishonesty. "I was just looking for weaknesses. Can the mate bond be broken?" she asked, her question driven by equal parts fear and hope.

Sarah eyed her warily. "If the bond isn't solid, it will break on its own."

Deep down, Pearl didn't know why she felt like crying at that knowledge.

As the minutes ticked by, the weight of Maverick's absence grew heavier on Pearl's heart. Unable to bear it any longer, she decided to go in search of him. He needed to know about the tattoo that marked her as his mate. They had to decide if they wanted to strengthen their bond or let it break on its own. She hoped desperately he would choose the former.

“I should go check on Maverick,” Pearl said. “Make sure he’s all right.”

Sarah waved her away, already turning her attention back to the maps and documents scattered across the table. Pearl slipped from the room, her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way through the twisting corridors of the Pinkerton headquarters.

She had to find Maverick, had to tell him the truth about their bond, but he was nowhere to be found within the headquarters. She hurried outside. His horse was missing from the hitching post, the only trace of his presence a faint cloud of dust on the horizon. Pearl felt the air leave her lungs in a rush, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her.

Maverick was gone.

He had left her, abandoned her without so much as a word of farewell. The betrayal cut deeper than any blade, a searing pain that left her breathless and reeling. Pearl strode back into the Pinkerton headquarters and burst into the briefing room.

Sarah looked up from the map she was studying, her brows knitted together in concern. “Where's Maverick?"

"Gone," Pearl said, her voice tight with barely contained emotion. "He's gone, and we have work to do."

Sarah looked like she was going to say something but then thought better of it, and assigned out individual tasks.

“Pearl, I’m going to need you to go after that gold.”

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